The Audition
by bsloths
Summary: Rachel is about to have the most important day of her life. And she wants Puck to be there. Multichapter. Puckleberry.
1. Be True to Your School

This fic (my 50th!) is a companion to my _Favors Between Friends_ chapter "Goals," but you don't have to have read that first. (All you need to know is that Rachel and Puck have a sort of loose agreement that they'll be moving to New York together after graduation.)

My own insecure disclaimer: I laid on the clichés pretty thick. I couldn't help it; Rachel and Puck are just too cute, and this story is all about wish fulfillment. It may not be the most original story out there, but I had fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the Puckleberry ride!

-Brandi

Disclaimer: The following and any other click-through links on this or connected pages lead to content that is not copyrighted by me. But since I'm making no money from this story, I am well within my rights to do things with the characters that Ryan Murphy might not necessarily have them do. (But I wish he would!)

i.e., This and all following chapters are hereby disclaimed.

**Prologue: Be True to Your School **

Puck wheeled Artie to his locker, giving him a fist bump as he turned around to walk toward his own. Puck had just aced another math quiz. Well, aced might be too strong a word. But he had passed, definitely passed.

Senior year was shaping up to be a real success. Somewhere between June and September he realized that the upcoming semesters were his last ones at McKinley, and if he had even a snowball's chance in hell of getting into any sort of college, he'd better buckle down.

So he started going to classes in September, actually going to classes, and to his surprise that made the tests a lot easier. He was pulling solid B's by early October, and he was pretty confident he would end the semester with at least one A. His mother would have a coronary. Of course, he was getting lots of help—Artie was still his faithful math tutor, and he sometimes got help from Rachel in English and Santana in science. And Mr. Schue had been helping him pass Spanish.

He'd convinced Coach Beiste that playing on the football team should give him an automatic pass in gym even if he only showed up half the time, and she'd miraculously bought it. He spent his daily nurse's office naps in there during gym, and it was scary how much that brought up his GPA.

The Titans were actually on a winning streak, New Directions was the odds-on favorite to win Sectionals, and he was back to his cougar-comforting days, enjoying the single life. Yes sir, senior year kicked some serious ass.

As he reached his locker after dropping Artie off, he was surprised to see a pink piece of stationary flutter out. He caught it before it reached the floor, and right away he recognized Rachel's neat handwriting.

It was pretty cryptic—she wanted him to meet her out on the bleachers during lunch. Oookay then. He tucked the paper into his back pocket, smiling at the possibility that this letter was her version of a booty call. He doubted it, but a guy could dream, couldn't he? He had no idea what it could possibly be about.

He was officially counting the minutes until lunch.


	2. Dirty Little Secret

After that tease of a prologue, here's Chapter 1. Just so you know, all of the chapters will be short, but I'm planning to upload one per day until the premiere of Season 3, so that should more than make up for the length. Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Dirty Little Secret**

She was waiting for him outside on the bleachers, and he had a vivid flashback to their breakup sophomore year.

Shaking off that unpleasant memory, he approached her spot and laid his plate of nachos next to her. "Hey. Want some?"

She shook her head, and it was only then that he noticed her mouth was set in a thin line. She was looking out over the football field, eyes glassy.

He swallowed. Oh, shit. She was about to cry. This was the furthest possible thing from a booty call, not that that's what it would have been. She and Finn had broken up again about three weeks ago, so it couldn't be about him. Maybe something was wrong with one of her dads?

"You okay, Rach?" He reached a hand out and awkwardly patted her shoulder. She looked up at him, then broke into a tearful grin.

"What the hell?" He glared at her. "I thought something was wrong. Why are you crying?"

"I was _trying_ not to!" she shot back. "But you'll understand why when you read this." She handed him an official-looking letter.

He read the letterhead and his eyes flew wide open. "Juilliard?" He looked over at her, and she nodded, eyes still brimming with tears as she grinned.

"We would like to offer you a special invitation," he read, "to audition as a Bachelor of Music candidate in the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts. Out of thousands of applicants, we have chosen your demo as one of our finalist candidates. Please join us for an in-person audition on Friday, November 4, 2011, at Lincoln Center Plaza, 155 West 65th Street, New York, New York, 10023." The letter went on to list the details of how to confirm attendance, directions to the audition hall, and instructions on what to prepare depending on whether you were auditioning as a vocalist, musician, or composer. "Oh my God," he stared up at her, and she burst into tears as he wrapped her in a bear hug, almost knocking over the plate of nachos in between them. "This is amazing!"

"You can't tell anyone else, okay?" she said as they pulled apart. She wiped her tears on her sweater sleeve. "I don't want anyone else to know."

Puck eyed her in disbelief. "Are you nuts? Why not?"

"It's too much pressure. I would love to tell Kurt and Mercedes and everyone, but what if it doesn't go well? It would be humiliating to come back to school and have to explain that I didn't get in. I'd rather surprise everyone with the fact that I got in without them knowing about this extra step."

Puck tilted her chin upward and grinned at her. "You are a star, Rachel Berry, and you _know_ it. You _will _get in."

Rachel blushed with pride and nodded, knocking his hand away from her chin. "Thank you, Noah, but still, I'd rather this stayed between us."

"Why tell _me_?" Puck couldn't help the stab of satisfaction he felt when he realized he was the only one she'd want to share this with.

"I was hoping you'd come with me, for moral support. Given our understanding about New York City, I thought maybe you'd be interested."

Puck swallowed. Hell yeah, he was interested. If he could swing the plane fare. "What about your dads?" It crossed his mind that he didn't actually know whether they were also in on the secret.

"They know about the audition. It didn't feel right to keep it from them. We talked about it, and they accepted the fact that I wanted to go without them. This is my first step toward independence, and I can't show up at Juilliard with _parents_. So they offered to pay for the flight and hotel for me and a friend. They assumed I'd bring Kurt, but as I said, I don't really want him to know. Especially since he has his own eye on Juilliard."

"Wow." Puck ran a hand over his face, trying to take in the news. Rachel was giving him an all-expenses-paid trip to NYC … and it was a _secret_? This was so, so hot. He grinned at her. "I'm in."

"Yes!" Rachel hugged him again, and this time he held her a little longer than was necessary. He didn't want there to be any mistaking it; if she was taking him to New York, it was not as just her friend. He had waited long enough for Finnchel to break up; he'd given her three weeks of mourning for their ridiculously failed relationship. Now it was _Puck's_ turn. She finally twisted out of his grasp, a little breathless but otherwise looking happy and excited. He could tell her mind was already working overtime about what song to sing. He asked her as much.

"I'm not sure yet. I already used 'Get It Right' as my application song, so that's out. I think my best bet is to chose something from Barbra or Patti's catalogue, but I worry that musical theater might be a bit too obvious a choice."

"You have a couple weeks. You'll figure it out. And you're welcome to bounce ideas off of my rock-hard abs." He lifted his shirt up to his chest for good measure, and Rachel giggled. That was a good sign that she was on board with his more-than-friends plan. Rachel had gotten a lot more confident and relaxed this year, at least around him, and he felt completely comfortable joking around with her.

They spent the rest of lunch discussing the details of the trip, and when the bell rang, Puck could tell that he wasn't the only one who didn't want their time together to end. He'd been feeling that way more and more lately. He'd always known they were hot as hell together, but lately their growing friendship had made him sure that he was ready to take on her particular brand of crazy long-term.

He made a promise to himself then and there: By the end of their New York trip, Rachel Berry would be his girlfriend.


	3. Empire State of Mind

**Chapter 2: Empire State of Mind **

The week of November 4th arrived quickly. Rachel still hadn't picked a song as they boarded the plane, but Puck knew she would get it together by the time she had to perform. She'd been incredibly focused and even more demanding than usual the past two weeks. Glee rehearsals with her had been brutal. Everyone could feel the tension, but no one guessed what had her so on edge.

They knew people would talk if they both missed the same two days of school, so she invented a long weekend trip to visit an aunt in the hospital, and he started coughing up a storm on Wednesday so that the next day when he called himself out sick for two days due to strep throat, no one would suspect anything.

There was no use fooling his mother, though. The Berrys had insisted he tell her, and they even had a very long three-way phone conversation about the trip. Mrs. Puckerman was thrilled that Puck and Rachel would be spending time together, of course, and barely blinked when he explained that the Berrys could only afford one hotel room. He was a little shocked at her lax attitude, but he figured she knew that after the Quinn mess, he would never be that stupid again.

But seriously, Rachel and him alone in a hotel room? His mind was running wild.

His reality-checking mechanism, however, was a little more logical. This was _Rachel_. There would be two beds, and she would be much too nervous about the audition to do anything but sleep in hers.

Still, the daydreams were a pretty nice perk of this trip so far, and they hadn't even landed in New York yet.

~RP*PR~

All of his romantic thoughts went out the window when he saw their hotel room. It was the size of a closet. Two lumpy twin beds were squeezed into a corner room with one tiny window and one miniscule bathroom. Oh, well. It was only one night.

Rachel was extremely tense. They'd barely spoken since her dads had dropped them at the airport. She claimed the bed by the window and looked at him questioningly. "Okay if I take this one?"

"Go for it," he said as he motioned toward the door. "I need to stretch my legs, wanna come?"

Rachel shook her head. "I have to practice. I've narrowed my choices down to three songs, and I have to pick the perfect one."

"I can help, if you want."

"Thank you, but I'd really like to do this on my own." She set her jaw and even though she looked anxious, he knew she needed to be alone to really get ready for the audition.

"Text me if you need me. I'm going to find the pool."

She nodded, already distracted by the mountain of sheet music she'd brought along.

He left, and wandered the hotel for a half hour before he realized there _was_ no pool. After all, the Berrys weren't _that _rich. Rachel's dads had picked the cheapest hotel they could find on short notice, and that meant that all of the rooms he passed seemed to be identical in size to his, and that there wasn't so much as a vending machine until he got to the lobby.

"Hey," he greeted the coat check guy, leaning against the counter. "Anything fun to do around here?"

The coat checker shrugged. "What are you looking for, bro?"

Puck tried not to laugh at the guy's obvious discomfort at trying to act cool. "Something cheap and nearby."

"There are literally hundreds of good restaurants around here."

Puck was starving, but he figured he'd better wait for Rachel. He had a feeling she wouldn't want to, but he was going to make her eat something. He wasn't about to let her faint from dehydration or whatever during her big moment the next morning. "How about something I can do to kill time until dinner?"

The coat checker shrugged again. "Shopping?"

Puck made a face, and the guy chuckled.

"All right, scratch that. I'm ready for dinner now." He would drag her out of that room if it killed him.

"There are a lot of great restaurants on 52nd Street, just a few blocks downtown. And there's a really slammin' nightclub on that same block."

Puck forgave the guy's use of "slammin'" because he had given him a brilliant idea. What better way to get Rachel to loosen up about her audition than to take her dancing? And what better way to get her pressed up against him, furthering his more-than-friends plan?

"Thanks, man. I owe you one." Puck couldn't get upstairs fast enough.

~RP*PR~

Surprisingly, Rachel was all too willing to go to dinner and escape the tedium of trying to pick a song. Puck thought maybe her nerves really were getting the best of her. He told her to put on something sexy, and to his utter shock, astonishment, and general jaw-droppingness, she picked out a glittery red dress with a slit down the chest about a mile long.

"Stop drooling, Noah, you look like a puppy," she scolded as she headed into the bathroom to change.

He hastily threw on a clean black t-shirt and checked his face in the mirror. His heart pounded viciously for the next five minutes as he waited for her to come out.

He wasn't disappointed. "Jesus, Rach." He let out a low whistle as she stepped out of the bathroom. "Are you trying to kill me?" He watched her walk into the room. The dress had straps that ended in a "v" a few inches below her chest, and the entire top half of the dress was skintight. The bottom of the very, very short skirt flared out slightly, accentuating her hips. Her hair was loose and wild, and she had put on smoky eye makeup that made her eyes look a million times darker than they were. Her lip gloss was shimmery and made her lips look extra full. Puck tried very hard not to imagine throwing her onto the bed, but from her expression he could tell that all of his thoughts were written on his face.

Her own face turned the same fire-engine-red color of her dress as she gauged his reaction. "I wasn't sure what the other applicants would be wearing, so I packed for any style," she explained.

Puck shook his head. "Bull. You would never wear that to an audition." He smirked when he saw her eyes light up in panic.

"Okay, you caught me," she agreed. "I was shopping with Kurt this summer and tried this on as a joke, because Finn likes me in red. _Liked_," she caught herself, looking pained, and continued, "But Kurt loved it so much he threatened to wear it himself I didn't buy it. So I did. But I never had the courage to wear it. Especially because I thought it might be too slutty for Finn."

Puck laughed. "So you brought it here because you knew it would most definitely not be too slutty for _me_?" God bless Finn-the-prude.

Rachel nodded. "I should have figured you'd understand. So, that good, huh?" She smiled coyly at him and spun around, making the bottom of the dress spin up slightly with her.

Puck gave an indecipherable yelp, and then choked out an, "Uh-huh." He cleared his throat. "Why do you insist on torturing me?"

"Because I knew you'd like to see me in this, and this is my thank you to you for coming with me on this trip. For keeping me sane." She smiled at him earnestly, but there was no mistaking those fluttering eyelashes.

Damn. She was trying to flirt! This girl standing in front of him, deliberately toying with him, was a far cry from the Rachel he dated two years ago. She was so much more confident and proud of her own assets. He sure as heck knew Finn hadn't helped her feel that way. It probably had a lot to do with Kurt and Blaine constantly telling her how fabulous she was. And it didn't hurt that he had become better friends with her this fall. During their tutoring sessions, he liked to make a point of staring at her various body parts until she yelled at him to stop. He knew it didn't _really_ upset her, though, because of the way she would lean closer to him and smile afterwards, like it was their private joke.

"I said you could look, not touch," she scolded, swiping his hand away as he reached for her.

Figured. She was as much of a tease as ever.

But in a way, he loved it. This meant she saw him as more than a friend, too.


	4. On the Floor

Special thanks to the wonderful mayfair22 for the beta on this chapter!

**Chapter 3: On the Floor**

They settled on a tiny pizza place around the corner from the nightclub.

"You're going to eat that, really?" he asked, in the nicest way possible, as she lifted a slice of extra cheese deep dish above her mouth so that the cheese could dangle past her lips. She took a graceful bite and set the pie down. "All that fat, and grease, and … aren't you not eating carbs right now?" He took a bite of his own slice.

"I've been off carbs since I found out about this audition. I deserve to have a little fun tonight," she explained. "Besides, since when are you my diet monitor?"

He had the courtesy to duck his head. "I wasn't criticizing, I'm just surprised. You're surprising me a lot on this trip."

Rachel dabbed at her mouth with her napkin and took another dainty bite. Amazingly, her lip gloss wasn't smudged yet. "I've decided on my song. I know I've been intense this past week, and tonight is all about blowing off that steam."

Puck nodded. "I should have known you'd be all responsible about this. What's your song?"

Rachel cleared her throat. "Actually, I've narrowed it down to two."

"Rachel!" Puck gasped, mock-sternly.

"I'm going to decide which to do at the last minute, depending on how I feel tomorrow or what it seems like the other applicants are doing."

"If anyone can pull that off, you can." Puck smiled. "Okay, what are your choices?"

"If I decide to go Broadway, 'Don't Rain on My Parade' is the obvious choice for me. I've been practicing, and if it's possible I think I sound even better doing it now than I did at Sectionals that year."

Puck hid an affectionate smile. She was never shy about sharing how talented she was, that was for sure.

"And I felt that if I didn't audition with Barbra I would be doing a disservice to my idol. So if I'm up to the challenge tomorrow, I thought I'd sing 'The Way We Were' as a more uplifting ballad, as opposed to Barbra's melancholy tone."

He had no idea what the heck melancholy meant. But he knew exactly what he was supposed to say. "Whatever one you do, you're gonna kick ass," he said sincerely.

"Thank you." Their eyes locked for a moment and Rachel looked away first, a blush creeping up her cheeks. Puck smiled to himself. He loved that he made her so flustered. In a good way.

~RP*PR~

The club was packed. Puck thought maybe it wouldn't be, given that it was a Thursday. But that didn't seem to stop the hundreds of twenty-somethings he saw gyrating inside.

They slipped through the entranceway and approached the bouncer. Puck paid both their cover charges and winked as he grabbed Rachel's butt on the way past. Sneaking in places was too easy—all you had to do was pretend you belonged there. Rachel was used to antics like that from him, so she played along expertly. He wished she would eye-fuck him like that for _real_.

"I'm so glad you look older than you are," Rachel said once they were in. "If it was just me, he would have thought I was twelve."

Puck eyed her cleavage. "Not wearing that he wouldn't." Rachel waved him off as if she was offended, but he saw her smiling.

"Want a drink?" he motioned toward the bar.

Rachel looked horrified. "No, thank you." He could tell she was remembering the Ke$ha incident, and he couldn't blame her. Besides, he wanted her sober so that he wouldn't feel like he was taking advantage of her when they ended up dancing.

He should have known she wouldn't waste any time. She dragged him out to the floor and they managed to find a spot among the sweaty mass of bodies. Of course, it was a small spot, so they were mashed together from the beginning.

Rachel began swaying to the overly remixed Taylor Swift song and Puck figured the best place for his hands was on her waist. "Okay?" he yelled over the music.

Rachel shifted his hands to her hips as she began moving them both back and forth to the beat. "Of course. It's just dancing, Noah." She smiled and spun around so that her back was against his chest.

"Right," he choked out, and after that he pretty much checked out of any kind of rational thought for the time being.

Rachel reached an arm up behind her head to grasp his neck, and he moved his hand from her hip to trail his fingers along her arm. He felt warm and happy as her fingertips grazed the edge of his scalp, then came to rest on his neck.

She changed positions on him and spun so that they were face to face again. He put both hands back on her hips, caressing up and down her sides as she moved. She leaned into him as he touched her, and placed her own hands on top of his. She brought their hands up to snake past her breasts, and he gasped as she let his hands rest there for a moment. He was having trouble thinking, sure, but that registered as awfully un-Rachel-like. But hey, he liked it, so he wasn't gonna complain.

Suddenly she was spinning out away from him, their hands still connected. She flipped her hands over so that they were holding his, and they danced that way for a few beats.

Apparently she liked dancing closer better, because before he knew it she was grinding against him, letting go of his hands so he could put them where he liked. He chose to sweep her hair to the side so her neck was exposed. He placed his chin behind the crook of her neck and exhaled slowly. Rachel shuddered at the whoosh of warm air and tilted her head back, laying it on his shoulder as her lower half moved with his to the beat.

Puck wasn't sure how much longer he could take the proximity, but luckily for him the song ended and they both stopped moving to catch their breaths. She didn't say anything, but Puck could tell from her smile that she was feeling loose and relaxed.

They danced for a few more songs, with Rachel taking control of the movements and alternating close with _thisclose_.

By the time Britney's "Gasoline" came on, she had Puck so foggy-headed he could barely see straight. It took a lot of effort to keep it together. He felt like such a dork for Finning it up, but hey, he'd never spent so much time against Rachel's body. Rachel's _writhing_ body. He was only human.

He could tell she was feeling the heat, too. Her hands hadn't left various parts of him for several songs. She currently had her hands moving up and down his chest as she swayed to the beat. He resisted the urge to stop and watch her. Instead, he bent down toward her and tried to follow her movements.

Their faces were only inches apart when she started singing along with the song. "My heart only runs on supreme," she whisper-sang, staring at him.

Holy crap, that was sexy. But he was not gonna sing back. Not. Her eyes bored into his.

"So hot, give me your gasoline," he joined in, trying to imitate Britney's purr, and they both laughed at how ridiculous he sounded.

Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her again. He rested his hands on her hips and they swayed back and forth.

"You set me on fire … " Rachel breathed, and they locked eyes again. Okay, seriously, he couldn't take much more of this.

"You set me on fire … " she whispered again, tugging him down even closer toward her face.

Their foreheads were touching as Britney's voice blared in the background … _you set me on fire_ … _you set me on fire_…

And before Puck could even attempt to form a coherent thought, Rachel had pulled him all the way toward her and captured his lips with her own.

Now this, he could deal with. Who needed coherent thought, anyway? There were more important things to do at the moment. Like get the hell off the dance floor.

He placed his arms under her thighs and picked her up, keeping his lips busy with hers while his eyes searched for a more private location. He spotted the restroom sign and headed toward it, Rachel giving him searing kisses every few feet so that it felt like it took forever to reach the hallway.

It was badly lit and a little seedy. More than one drug deal had probably gone down right where he leaned back against the wall and finally dropped his arms out from around Rachel's legs. She slid down him but kept one leg up against his hip. He gripped the underside of her thigh with his right hand and pulled her toward him by the back of her neck with his left. She didn't need the prodding; she was kissing him again, wet and sloppy and oh so good. He let himself relax until all he could taste and feel and smell was her amazing mouth. She paused to take a breath and nibbled on his bottom lip, and he was impressed to see that she had gotten much better at the biting thing.

Partiers heading to the restrooms wandered by, but Puck was only vaguely aware of them. He hitched her leg up tighter against him and she whimpered loudly as she felt him against her.

He was going to do everything in his power to make her make that sound again.


	5. Can't Fight the Moonlight

**Chapter 4: Can't Fight the Moonlight**

Rachel pulled away and Puck instantly missed her warmth. "I'm sorry, Noah, I thought I could do this, but I can't."

Rachel hid behind her hair, but he brushed it out of her face and cupped her chin. "Nothing else has to happen tonight, you know that, right? I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for." He wanted something else to happen, _badly_, but he knew a thing or two about respect.

Rachel bent her chin up so she could slip from his grasp. She looked at the wall next to him. "No, I know that. I just don't think we should go any further tonight."

Puck shrugged, trying to get his breathing under control. He hated that she had trouble looking into his eyes when they were having an intense conversation. "Okay, that's cool."

Rachel looked up at him, focusing on his forehead. "Unless … do you think maybe we could keep doing this?" She gestured between them.

Puck grinned. "Yeah, definitely, just give me a minute to recharge."

Apparently that was a mistake, because while he was still trying to compose himself, she started pacing back and forth in front of him.

"If … if I hadn't said something … would we have done more?" She sounded so unsure of herself.

"Absolutely," Puck blurted out, without trying to figure out what he was _supposed_ to say. Big mistake.

Her expression hardened. "I shouldn't have brought you with me." She looked at his neck this time. He wanted to grab her and shake her and tell her to look into his goddamn_eyes_, but he didn't want to scare her away.

"Jeez, Rachel." He ran a nervous hand over his mohawk. "Dramatic, much? Look, I wasn't expecting anything to happen. Hoping, sure, but not _expecting_."

"And I thought I could do that for you, but I was wrong." She crossed her arms, and he was completely lost.

"I'm not understanding this. Why are you so mad?"

"I'm not mad." She pouted.

Jesus. He had no idea what he was supposed to say or do next. Something occurred to him. "Hey, what you do mean, 'do that for _you_'? You don't _want_to have sex with me? Like, _ever_?" The color drained from his face and he bit his lip, waiting for her answer.

Rachel's eyes widened. "So I was right. All you want is to have sex with me." Her arms were still crossed as she gazed up at him, her expression unreadable.

Puck groaned. "That's not _all_ I … " he began, but she interrupted with an exaggerated sigh.

"You know, I brought you with me because I knew you'd be the only one who could keep me from freaking out and blowing the audition. I did _not_ bring you here so we could sleep together."

Puck held up his hands in surrender. "Really, I get that."

"Then why are you doing this to me? You take me out, we dance, you can't keep your eyes or your hands off me … what's a girl supposed to think?" He could see that she was straining not to stamp her foot. He would think it was cute, almost, if he wasn't so confused.

"Hold up. _You_ tell me I'm the only one that can know about the most important day of your life. _You_ put on the sexiest dress ever invented. _You_ kiss me, and _I'm_ the one leading_you_ on? Bullshit."

"I wore this," she gestured in disgust at the dress, "and kissed you because I thought that's what you would want!" she cried in frustration. "I was trying to give you a nice time as a thank you for coming with me and putting up with me, and you're ruining it!"

Puck stared at her in horror. Did she really think she meant so little to him? "Are you actually saying that you played dress up for me and seduced me, as, as payment? Like a fucking _whore_?"

Rachel blushed scarlet. "Don't say it like that—"

"How the hell am I supposed to say it?" Puck was trying to keep his emotions in check, but she was making it very difficult, glaring at him with her dress shoved down her chest crookedly. His thoughts were a million places at once, and the crappy hallway lighting was giving him a headache. "I have no idea what's going through your head right now, Rachel. Please, tell me, because I don't have a clue."

"I just … " She hung her head. "I don't know. I was trying to be sexy for you, because that's what you like. I thought tonight would be about you, and tomorrow would be about me. That's fair, right?"

Puck took a deep breath. "Tell me honestly, Rachel—do you believe I even _have_ feelings? Do you think I just walk around thinking about sex all the time, incapable of having any kind of real connection with someone? Are you _pitying_ me? Did you 'thank' Finn this way too, or are you just a big fucking tease around _me_?"

Rachel looked surprised. "What? No, I—How dare you call me a tease!"

"It's better than whore, isn't it?" he spat.

She put her hands on her hips, eyes flashing. "Listen, _Puckerman_, I'm not an idiot. You want me; it's completely obvious all the time, and frankly, I'm getting kind of sick of it. I'm not going to have sex with you."

"If it's been so obvious and you hate it, why the hell would you bring me all the way out here? If I'm so _predictable_, why would you go to dark club with me, wearing what you're wearing? You're practically begging me for it, Rachel! But I guess since I'm not your precious _Finn_—" It actually physically hurt to say the guy's name.

"Don't you dare start in on Finn."

"No, let's talk about Finn, Rachel, why don't we? Did you back down tonight because you're still in love with him? Are you still that hung up on him being your first?" Even though he was angry, he desperately wanted to know.

"I'm not in love with Finn anymore," she said quietly.

"Yeah, right," Puck scoffed.

"I'm serious. I'm over him. For real this time. We could never make it work." Her eyes grew sad, and Puck softened.

"So why are you resisting me? Not the sex, I mean. I'm with you on this trip, putting up with your crazy ass, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm willing to wait for you. Are you going to be with me or not?"

Rachel's mouth opened and closed as she figured out what to say. "You're not talking about tonight anymore? You're talking about a relationship?" She looked nervous, and Puck cringed inwardly. Don't scare her away, don't scare her away, he chanted in his head.

"She finally gets it." He tore his eyes from her face and looked around the dank hallway. This was so not the romantic spot he hoped it'd be when he did this. "I act like I want you all the time because I _do_. I want to be your boyfriend. There, I said it."

Rachel's lip quivered, but she kept her face stoic. He had to give her credit for keeping her dignity, whatever amount of it she had left. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

Puck sighed. "You were head over heels for you-know-who. Would you have given me the time of day when you were with him already?"

Rachel looked at her feet. "No, I guess not. But we tried it once, and it didn't work, remember?"

Puck threw up his hands. "I was having a baby with someone else that year, _remember_? You are definitely high fucking maintenance, Rachel, and I couldn't give you my attention when it was all used up on someone else." She gave him a slight smile at that, but quickly turned serious again.

"But when Finn and I were broken up last year … "

"You wanted time to yourself. You wouldn't have wanted to be with _anyone_, let alone a guy who pretty much caused your breakup in the first place."

Rachel looked thoughtful. "That's true."

"Look, the timing for us has always sucked. But for once, we're here, all alone, together, and I thought if I didn't at least try to hook up with you I'd lose you again. You always come back to me, though, have you noticed that? When you want a random makeout or need a favor, you come to me. Not Finn. Not Kurt. _Me_. That's gotta count for something, right?"

Rachel's whole face relaxed and she gazed up at him, actually looking into his eyes. "I think I trust you more than anyone else. And you always tell me the truth. So tell me this. If I hadn't said anything right now, and we took this back to the hotel, would anything be different tomorrow? You would have gotten me out of your system, finally gotten to see me naked," she cringed a little at the word, "and then next week you'd be back to doing what you do best, having random sex with random women."

Puck let out a snarl of frustration. She still didn't believe he had real feelings. That kinda hurt, to be honest. "We're back to this, really? You honestly don't think I could be in a real relationship with you, that I'd only care about getting in your pants?"

Rachel shrugged. "We both know I'm high maintenance." She frowned.

"Yeah. But when has _anything_ come easy to me? I work for the things that matter in my life." He finally felt it was safe to touch her, and he brought his fingertips forward to lightly rest on the sides of her arms. "And trust me, _you_ matter."

Her brows creased as she stared past him at the wall. Was she really still not convinced? "Shit, Rachel. You know how you're always surprised when I know something about Broadway? That's because I listen to you when you talk. You talk _all the freaking time_, but I listen." She half-smiled. "Those couple's calendars you made for Finn, and he thought they were stupid and made fun of them? I would kill for a couple's calendar from you. I'd sleep with it under my pillow if that's what you wanted." She actually let out a giggle at that. "The way you lose your mind when you're getting ready for something important? I'm here for you. I let you vent to me over and over because I know it keeps you sane. That's why you brought me with you on this trip, and except for maybe the last ten minutes, I'd say I'm doing a hell of a job being your life coach or whatever. And I'll be happy to do it for as long as you want me to."

Rachel stepped forward and wrapped her thumbs and forefingers up in the sides of his t-shirt, kneading the fabric. He could tell she was nervous again. "So, what's in this for you? You explained why you're good for me. Why am I good for you?"

Puck removed his hands from her arms and waved them in front of her face. "Are you kidding me?"

She didn't crack a smile. "I really want to know, because I honestly can't see it."

Puck was really, really regretting having this conversation in such a terrible place. This would be so much more comfortable to do on a Holiday Inn bed, not with a cinderblock club wall digging into his back. But if they waited any longer, they may not have said anything they were saying right now. And he knew for sure that these things needed to be said.

He cupped her face with his hands. "You are the only person, and I mean only person, in my entire life who has never, not once, made me feel stupid. You take what I say seriously. You're nice to me and fun to be around and you make me laugh. And I hate to say it, but I do appreciate how you look. You're sexy and have gotten so much more confident about that fact, which makes you even hotter."

Rachel smiled and reached up to kiss him again. Triumphant at having won her over, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her upwards. Still, he knew he couldn't let it get as heated as before.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

About five seconds into it, she pushed herself off of him and landed unsteadily on her heels. "I'm sorry. I just can't."

Puck slammed his fist backward into the wall and winced at the pain. "_Now_ what's wrong?"

Rachel's eyes unfocused and she hung her head. "I may have been lying when I said I was over Finn—"

"Fucking Finn Hudson? Really?" Puck had had enough. He was exhausted, and emotionally drained, and really had a headache. He needed a bed. Now. "I'm so done, Rachel. First you accuse me of not making a move soon enough, and then now all of a sudden it's _too_ soon? I'm not into this yo-yo shit. Let's go." Rachel didn't know what she wanted, and until she did, he was not going to get jerked around. He pushed himself off the wall, resisting the urge to see if there was a Puck-shaped dent in it, because it sure felt like it. They left the club and headed back uptown. Rachel followed along behind him silently. He was surprised that she couldn't think of a thing to say. But he guessed she was as tired as he was. And really, what more _could_ she say? Nothing would fix them until she decided to let go of the clueless bastard who'd had her heart for three years now.


	6. Tender Is the Night

**Chapter 5: Tender Is the Night**

Back at the hotel, Puck turned on the TV as soon as they got into the room. He didn't want to risk saying something that would continue their fight, but he just couldn't take the silence anymore.

Rachel locked herself in the bathroom and didn't come out for a while—he started to get worried until she emerged wearing a robe, her hair damp.

"Your turn," she said quietly, eyeing him with a mixture of apprehension and pleading.

Puck realized she needed to know that he wasn't angry with her. She couldn't possibly deal with her audition in the morning if she wasn't feeling secure and comfortable around him.

"Thanks. Here's the remote. We're in NYC, I bet they have a Broadway channel." He smiled as best he could as he chucked the remote onto her bed. She smiled gratefully at him as she rooted around in her bag.

He took his own long time in the bathroom. He wasn't angry. At her or at Finn. He was just disappointed. He had finally figured out that Rachel made the whole relationships thing worth it, and the only one he wanted to _be_ in a relationship with wasn't ready for him. It was ironic, really. He wondered briefly what would have happened if they'd never broken up sophomore year, but realized that wouldn't have changed anything. The outside factors broke them up that time. This time, they were so close to graduating, to leaving their past behind them, to starting over together in this city, that it seemed silly to wait. He wanted her now and he would want her a year from now, that he was sure of. Why wait to get together?

But he also didn't want to force her into anything. That would be the last thing he'd ever want, to have to beg her to be with him. He didn't roll that way. So he'd just have to take things as they came, and most importantly, always be the one who was there for her, no matter what.

He had to get out of his head. He cranked the shower heat up as hot as it would go and let the steam clear his mind.

When he was finished, his skin was raw, but it had been worth it. He was calmed down, and starting to get really curious about the next morning. He couldn't wait to see what Juilliard was like.

~RP*PR~

Early the next morning, before the sun was even up, Puck awoke to the sound of rustling from the bed next to him. He sat up and looked around, eyes adjusting to the darkness.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Rachel whispered.

"What are you doing?" he asked, finally able to see her hunched over some papers. "Are you … rehearsing?" Crazy girl. But he shouldn't have expected anything less.

He could tell even from his bed that Rachel was blushing from being caught. "I needed to look things over one more time—"

"Berry." He threw off the covers and came over to sit next to her. He brushed her hair out of her face. "Your audition is at ten. You will have plenty of time. Both our alarms are set, _and _we asked for a wake-up call." He patted her knee. "You'll be great."

Rachel grabbed the hand that was on her knee and squeezed it. "Thank you. I know I shouldn't, but I just won't be able to sleep again until I know I've got both songs down."

Puck sighed. He glanced at the clock. It was a little past four. They could get at least another three hours' sleep if they went back to bed now. "You've had both songs down since you were two years old. Come on." He slipped a hand behind her back and the other underneath her legs. Ignoring her noisy protests, he picked her up and practically flung her onto his bed. Before she could get up, he landed next to her and wrapped an arm around her middle. "You are not leaving this bed until the alarms go off."

Rachel looked into his eyes and he could see defiance in hers, but then she softened. "All right. This is why I brought you here. I may as well use you."

"You brought me here to be your pillow?" He tucked her closer into him and pulled up the covers.

"You can't just turn on the charm and make me fall asleep," she replied.

"Of course I can. No one can resist my powers of persuasion." It felt good to be teasing back and forth like they usually did.

"You _are_ good at it," she admitted, already sounding drowsy.

"Good night, Rach," he whispered against her ear.

"Good night, Noah."

He suppressed a contented smile and concentrated on falling back asleep. It didn't take long.

When their alarms went off and the phone rang the next morning, Puck stretched and groaned as he sat up, forgetting Rachel was next to him. He accidentally smacked her in the face as she sat up right after him.

"That's one way to make sure I'm awake," she joked as he apologized, still a little bleary-eyed. He was relieved that she still seemed in good spirits.

By the time they answered the phone and turned off all the beeping, they were both wide awake.

The audition hall was about five blocks uptown and it was a nice morning, so they decided to walk. Puck made sure they stopped to put something in their stomachs. Rachel opted for a protein shake and a bagel with low-fat cream cheese. He was shocked that she was able to eat, because he was too nervous to. To be fair, she did give him the second half of her protein shake, and he managed to finish it.

"I can't believe you're not nervous. I mean, I'm glad you're not, but still," he told her as they passed signs for Fordham University. The closer they got, the more knots formed in Puck's stomach, and he wasn't even the one auditioning!

Rachel shrugged as she gazed in awe at the buildings around her. "I feel very prepared right now. I'm ready for this," she said, eyes shining as she pointed out the looming arches of the Metropolitan Opera.

Even Puck had to admit he was a little starry-eyed too. Rachel would fit in so well here, he could feel it. He could picture himself picking her up after class, walking around the Met together, seeing her in shows at Lincoln Center.

He shook off the sappy thoughts as she stopped short and squeezed his hand. "We're here," she announced breathlessly.

The auditions were at Alice Tully Hall, one of Juilliard's main performance spaces. The building was suitably imposing, all modernistic angles and glass. Rachel didn't let go of Puck's hand as they approached the entrance.

He figured if he was ever going to be a gentleman, now was the time to do it. He opened the door for her and pretended to tip his hat, and she smiled confidently.

Both of their faces fell the moment they closed the door and came face-to-face with the massive crowd of people milling around the room.

Puck swallowed. Guess Rachel's "special invitation" to audition wasn't that special.


	7. The Way We Were

**Chapter 6: The Way We Were**

You'd never guess how efficient the auditions were by looking at the crowded lobby. The attendant called Rachel's name at exactly at ten o'clock.

They had been reading the music over and over after checking in. Puck couldn't stop her, and he figured it wouldn't do any harm to look over the sheets with her.

He was allowed to follow her backstage and wait in the wings.

"You can do this," he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek and giving her butt a little shove toward the stage.

She frowned back at him in mild annoyance, but her eyes were full of gratitude. He sighed. Okay, so touching her butt was a little uncalled for, but hey, all he wanted was to get her out on that stage in one piece, and it looked like he'd accomplished that.

"Good morning. I'm Rachel Berry from Lima, Ohio, and I'll be singing 'The Way We Were' by Barbra Streisand," she introduced herself.

Puck nodded in approval and rocked back and forth on his heels in anticipation. She'd decided about twenty minutes ago that that was the song she needed to sing. She wanted the judges to concentrate on her voice and her emotion, not just her showmanship.

He must have rocked back too far because the next thing he knew, the guitar on a stand behind him was toppling to the ground. He cursed under his breath. He just knew Rachel was looking over at him, glaring daggers.

"Everything okay back there?" a male voice called. Puck figured it must be one of the judges.

He ducked out from the wings, holding the guitar carefully by the neck. "Sorry about that. Won't happen again." He was about to duck back out of sight when the judge who had spoken before motioned for him to step further into view.

"A guitar accompaniment will be a nice touch. Our other applicants have only used our in-house pianist so far." He motioned to the baby grand in the corner, where a grumpy-looking piano player was frowning at Puck. He'd probably seen Puck almost step on the guitar.

Puck spoke up before Rachel could. "That's Rachel, full of good ideas," he said loudly, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Her nostrils were flared and she was taking quick, shallow breaths. Her eyes were murderous.

So sue him, he _wanted_ to do this, no matter what Rachel thought. When would he ever get to play in a fancy, high-class hall like this again? He had to take his shot while it lasted. And it wasn't like he'd ruin her audition. He got along very well with just about any guitar.

"Wonderful. Come on out," the judge said warmly.

Rachel heaved a sigh and Puck put on a relaxed smile, trying to communicate to her that she'd better calm down too.

Thank God he had dressed up a little for this. He was wearing a white button-down shirt and khakis. The shirt wasn't tucked in, of course, but at least the khakis had minimal pockets, so they looked presentable. Rachel was wearing a bright blue short-sleeved dress with ruffles down the chest and a skirt that hugged her hips just right. She was much more presentable-looking than he was, but would the judges care about clothes? He had spent an afternoon sitting on Rachel's bed while she laid out potential dresses around him and threw out words like "demure," "A-line," and "empire waist." He knew it was important she look good today.

Well, he would just have to make her look good with his musical prowess. He was so, so lucky he'd read over the music so many times. He knew it almost as well as Rachel did.

He walked center stage as quickly as he could, taking a spot a little to the left of Rachel and well behind her. He didn't want anything, even his kickass guitar solo, to overpower her voice. It helped that her blue dress popped in the wood-paneled room. His pants were almost the same color as the walls.

"Please proceed, Miss Berry," the judge urged.

Rachel still looked like she was on the brink of hysterics. But suddenly, he saw her face go blank and he knew she was pulling it together. Sure enough, a split second later she had on her game face, and he strummed the first chord.

As soon as Puck heard her belt out the first line, "_Mem'ries _… " he knew she was golden. He had no idea how a girl in such a tiny package could put so much emotion into one word, but she did it. As she sang, he looked out at the judges for the first time. There were two men and one woman, sitting six rows back, faces completely impassive. But he thought he saw the woman's eyes light up as Rachel got into the song.

It was a very quiet song, but Rachel brought her powerful voice to it, and he figured she was sobbing by the chorus. He craned his neck forward and caught a glimpse of the tears streaming down her cheeks. He almost messed up the song trying to stifle an affectionate laugh. He hoped the judges wouldn't mind a soggy soloist.

For once, she didn't try to channel Barbra and use her idol's inflection, either. Rachel made the song her own, and Puck knew she deserved major points for that. The song didn't sound sad with Rachel singing it. It sounded hopeful, uplifting. He concentrated on getting his part exactly right, and he thought they sounded pretty good together, as always.

"_Scattered pictures, of the smiles we left behind_," she sang, and, to his utter disbelief, she turned her head to wink at him, seriously, wink at him, as she sang the next line: "_Smiles we gave to one another, for the way we were _… "

Jesus, was she singing _to _him?

"_Can it be that it was all so simple then? Or has time rewritten every line? If we had the chance to do it all again _…_ tell me, would we, could we?_" She held the last note, singing out clear and strong, and he felt like she was actually asking _him_ those questions.

He'd be damned if that song wasn't written just to fuck with his head. He realized that maybe that was the real reason she'd decided to perform this one … but no, she'd decided on this as a frontrunner early on.

Still … Puck felt like a total wuss, but his heart leapt as Rachel finished the song, thinking about how she'd chosen to make the lyrics more hopeful than regretful. What exactly was she trying to tell him?

"_The way we were_ … " Her voice faded out slowly and gently, and he wished he had a stopwatch so he could time just how long she held that "r" in "were." It had to be at least a minute.

He strummed the guitar for the last note, and as the judges applauded, he beamed. They looked very happy.

"Thank you very much, Miss Berry," the only judge to speak so far said as their applause died down. Rachel quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. If they'd noticed or cared that she was crying, they didn't show it. Puck figured maybe people at these auditions were so nerve-wracked, the judges were just happy not to have to witness vomiting.

All thoughts of Rachel and what the song meant flew out of his head when the female judge turned her attention to him.

"And who are you, young man?"

"Noah Puckerman, ma'am," he answered warily, not entirely sure ma'am was the correct sentiment. Madame? Madam? Mum? No, that was British.

The female judge didn't seem to care. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Puckerman. When is your audition? We have some extra time; since you're already here we'd love to have you perform for us now."

Puck heard Rachel gasp but couldn't bring himself to look at her. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the female judge. Had she just said what he thought she just said?

He wasn't sure why, but his mouth was forming words and his brain was functioning, apparently, without him. "Now would be great."

"Wonderful," the judge agreed, and as the group bent their heads to scribble some notes, he finally looked at Rachel. She had her back to the judges and her mouth was hanging open wider than he thought possible.

With absolutely no idea what to do next, he headed over to where Rachel was standing. She closed her mouth and shook her head at him in disbelief. "What are you _doing_?" she hissed.

He bent close to her and murmured, "I know Juilliard is your thing, but trust me, Rach, after that performance, you're in. Somebody finally wants me to show off my talent, I'd be crazy not to take them up on it, right?"

Rachel blinked rapidly and swallowed, trying to get her thoughts together. "You're right," she finally whispered back. "Go for it." She smiled hugely at him and he could tell she was genuinely happy about this—her eyes were full of encouragement. She turned to the judges, who had just lifted their heads back up to the stage.

"Thank you very much for this opportunity," she addressed them, and the spokesjudge nodded, smiling. Rachel darted offstage and Puck could see her waiting in the wings, hands clasped in anticipation.

He had the perfect song to sing. It would impress the judges, sound awesome, and hopefully, _hopefully_, give Rachel the push she needed to get over Finn. He couldn't believe his luck that he got to try it out here, of all places. The acoustics in the room were incredible.

"I'll be singing an original song that I wrote," Puck announced. "It's called, 'Musical Soulmate.'"

He glanced at Rachel, who looked shocked at that new piece of information. Perfect—she was going to love this. He hoped. The judges nodded encouragingly as he shifted the shoulder strap of his guitar, and began.


	8. Musical Soulmate

Ever since I heard Mark Salling's song "Musical Soulmate," I knew I had to work it into a Puckleberry fic—there's no better song for them!

This is the second-to-last chapter. Thanks to everyone who's been alerting and following this whirlwind fic. I've never posted anything in such a rush, but I'm just going to make it before Tuesday night. Here's to lots of Puckleberry moments in Season 3 (and therefore lots of new chapters of _Favors Between Friends_!)!

**Chapter 7: Musical Soulmate **

He knew it was a pretty big embarrassment to be caught dead writing a song for a girl, but he also knew that girls found it hella romantic.

He'd always serenaded his ladies using songs he thought they'd like. Well, earlier this fall as the glee club was bouncing around song ideas for Sectionals, he'd actually started to write something. He hadn't had the courage to share it with New Directions then, especially because Finn and Rachel were dating when he wrote it.

It was all because of a particularly boring study "date" with Rachel that September. She'd reached up to one of her kitchen cabinets to get him a coffee mug, and suddenly he wasn't so bored—her sweater was revealing a whole heck of a lot of her back as she stretched up on her tiptoes. He was at her side in a flash, grabbing the mug for her before his body did anything to betray him. As he brought the mug down to her, their faces were inches apart and they stood like that, breathing, staring, and holy heck, it was hot. But of course, Rachel turned away and returned to the kitchen table before he could close the distance and kiss her.

He figured if they kept having moments like that, a kiss (or more) was bound to happen sometime soon. But of course, Rachel had learned her lesson. For the rest of the fall, she'd pretty much kept her distance when they hung out.

No wonder Puck was Rachel-starved by the time she'd asked him on this trip. After that September study date, he'd gone home and worked out a song, and he'd been perfecting it ever since.

He was out of time to perfect it now—he was about to go live in front of the most prestigious music school in the country.

Strangely, he wasn't nervous. He didn't have time to be. It had happened so fast, and having Rachel's blessing to do this gave him such a high. This was supposed to be her day, and somehow he'd stolen her thunder … but for once, she didn't seem upset at having to share the spotlight. He took a deep breath, played the opening chords, and began singing.

_I remember when I realized_

_The depth of your beauty for the first time_

The best thing about singing his own song was that if he messed up, no one would know. He grew more confident with every line, resisting the urge to look at Rachel. He had to look at the judges, make them feel what he felt for her. Since there was no way he was actually getting into this school, the pressure was off. But he still wanted to impress them because hey, it felt nice to be validated, and that was something Puck didn't feel very often.

_A million ears have heard you_

_But none have listened quite like mine_

_Every phrase that leaves your lips_

_Makes me feel as if I'm paralyzed_

_Talking is trivial, sing another crazy note_

_And I will be a third below_

Puck smiled to himself as he thought about what had prompted that line. Another study "date," another day in September, and they were taking a break to work on a mashup for glee. Rachel had been chattering on about someone who had just won a Tony and was now on tour. He'd groaned and said, "Can we get back to our mashup? Sing another crazy note … let's see if you can break a glass!" She'd giggled and actually attempted it. Within ten minutes they were doubled over laughing, homework and glee forgotten.

_The troubles that we knew before_

_Disappear, and all I know is that_

_It makes no difference where you come from_

_I don't care if you need my love_

_You know I'll be there_

_I swear I want to sing to the world_

_No need to keep it a secret_

He had written those lines after witnessing a seriously gross ooey-gooey moment between Rachel and Finn by the lockers. They were only a couple of weeks away from breaking up at that point, but of course he hadn't known that then. He'd turned around and walked the other direction, hating himself for being jealous. And then she'd come over his house that afternoon, acting playful and relaxed, while he longed to beg her to dump Finn. It was so _not_ badass.

_You are the one, the only_

_My musical soulmate _

Puck didn't buy into that lovey-dovey soulmate crap. But he couldn't help but appreciate the way their voices blended so well every time they sang together. So he'd pieced those thoughts together as the chorus, and it was crazy romantic, if he did say so himself.

_Darling, listen_

_The audience is calling you_

_They're calling you _

_But there's no way in hell _

_That they will ever feel you like I do_

He wasn't sure if you were allowed to say "hell" at Juilliard, but the judges didn't seem to mind. They sat there with the same impassive faces they'd used on Rachel, so he couldn't tell a damn thing about what they thought.

_It makes no difference where you come from_

_I don't care if you need my love_

_You know I'll be there_

_I swear I want to sing to the world_

_No need to keep it a secret_

_You are the one, the only_

_My musical soulmate_

He repeated the chorus one more time, and finished the song with a little guitar flourish. The judges were clapping as soon as he finished.

"You two are quite something," the spokesjudge said, motioning to where Rachel was hidden in the wings. Rachel took a few steps into view. Puck still didn't have the courage to look at her. "Do you ever duet?"

"Yes," Puck answered quickly. "We belong to the same glee club at school and we're paired up all the time." It wasn't quite the truth, but it wasn't a lie, either. They paired _themselves_ up to sing duets all the time.

"We're the male and female leads," Rachel spoke up, sounding completely normal.

That wasn't exactly true, either. They were planning to duet on one song at Sectionals, but the set list was constantly evolving. He was happy Rachel said it, though.

He snuck a glance at her, and she looked … fine. He had just rocked her world with that song, he knew he must have, and she was … fine? Not one teardrop. What the hell!

"Well, I must say, we are very impressed," the female judge responded. She was smiling now.

The third judge finally spoke. "Very impressed, indeed. We're not allowed to give any official words today, of course, but between you and me," he conveniently waved away his fellow judges with a smile, "I'd say that pending a review of your final transcripts and completion of the written application, you're each guaranteed a spot in our Fall 2012 Bachelor of Music program."

Rachel's shriek reverberated off of the wood-paneled walls, and she immediately began apologizing. Puck stood frozen, still processing what he'd just heard. The judges laughed good-naturedly at Rachel.

"Let me write down your contact information and give you our business cards, and then you can go celebrate, you two," the female judge said warmly. "Oh, and one more thing … "

Rachel and Puck's heads both snapped toward her.

"Welcome to Juilliard."


	9. I Honestly Love You

**Chapter 8: I Honestly Love You **

Rachel was babbling. "Let's walk around a little while we're here, see where we'll be living. We'll have to go to the hotel and collect our bags from the bellhop, but then we should go out and celebrate. Let's see, our flight leaves at seven; we could put in a reservation at Sardi's now for a late lunch … "

Puck tuned her out as he exited the audition hall, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other.

Rachel's dream had come true. She was going to Juilliard.

Puck didn't have any dreams even remotely close to hers. But he had wanted to come to school in New York, and here it was. He was going to Juilliard. And he didn't even have to take musical theater. Rachel was a walking encyclopedia of the place and she had mentioned awhile ago that they had a pretty sweet music production department.

He was going to Juilliard. He was going to college to play his guitar and write songs. He was going to college in New York City. He was moving to New York City. He was going to college with Rachel.

Holy motherfucking hell, whose life had he just stolen and how did he make sure he never had to give it back?

"Hey." He was jolted back to reality when Rachel paused on the steps outside the hall and grabbed his arm. "You're a million miles away. Are you all right?" She peered up at him questioningly.

Puck shook his head. "You know that expression 'it blows my mind'?"

Rachel grinned. "This is where they get that expression. When you're told you got into Juilliard."

"Exactly." Puck beamed down at her, and they smiled goofily at each other for a few seconds until Rachel cleared her throat. Puck's smile faltered, wondering what she was about to say that made her look so serious.

"About your song. Was that for me?"

"Of course." He really wasn't in the mood to be rejected again, so he brushed her off. "But let's not talk about it now."

Her hand still hadn't left his arm. "I _want_ to talk about it now. That was the most beautiful thing anyone's ever done for me." Her eyes were shining up at him and he couldn't help but stare at her, soaking up her beauty.

"Look, Noah, I'll admit I was jealous when they asked you to audition. I worked so hard for this, and you're here for five minutes and it just falls in your lap," she continued, and Puck ripped his arm away from her touch. She was about to shut him down once and for all, he could tell.

"I get it, Rach. I know. I'm sorry. But I knew I'd regret it if I didn't—"

"Let me finish. I was jealous at first, but then I realized how excited you looked to be auditioning, and I felt … happy. I was happy _for_ you. And that doesn't happen to me very often. I know I tend to be a little bit selfish."

Puck eyed her warily. "Okayyy … "

"All I could think about was how excited I was that we both got in. I think I may have even been happy if just you had gotten in."

"Let's not get carried away," Puck corrected her with a slight smile.

"Well, maybe not," she agreed. "But it doesn't matter, because that's not what happened. And you singing that song just for me … I know how much you care about me, and I've been afraid to let myself care that much about you. But today … it felt really good to share this with you. Really, really good. I feel like I could share anything with you, and it would make that thing better. You know what I mean?"

She searched his face with hesitant eyes and he took a deep breath.

"Yeah. But what about Finn?" He cringed inwardly at the name, but it had to be said. He had to know.

Rachel sighed. "I think part of me will always care about Finn. But that's okay. Because there's a much bigger part, the most important part, that is ready to try this again with you. There's no reason we shouldn't, especially now that we're definitely going to be here together next year. I love you, Noah."

Puck's heart flooded with relief at her words. Rachel Freaking Berry loved him, and he was going to Juilliard. _This_ was more like it. But he needed to be one hundred percent convinced. "So this is for real? You're not just saying it because it's convenient that we'll be here together next year?"

Rachel shook her head. "I promise I'm not. It took me a long time to figure it out, but I mean it. I love you, and it's silly for me to pretend otherwise. I've hurt you too many times, and I'm done second-guessing myself. I want to be with you if you'll have me."

Puck took one step down so that they were closer to the same height, and kissed her softly. When they broke apart, he declared, "I love you, Rachel Berry." Her eyes widened in delight and she kissed him again. It wasn't until there were noises below them on the steps that they realized they'd better get out of the audition hall.

The next applicant was coming up the steps toward them, and Rachel and Puck both wished her good luck as they passed by.

They finally reached the doors to the lobby.

"You realize that once we open these doors, we're stepping into our new life," Rachel said seriously. "This is a new beginning for us."

"You're so dramatic," Puck chided with a grin. "But yeah, it's exciting."

She shot him a satisfied smirk, and he laughed.

Puck opened the door for her, like a gentleman, and they headed into the lobby together. They rounded a corner and ran smack dab into … Rachel's dads.

~RP*PR~

Puck thought the Messrs. Berry were pretty damn great. But he did _not_ like having to sit through a "celebratory lunch" with them when he could have been kissing Rachel senseless up against a wall somewhere. Like last night, but _so_ much better.

Rachel, of course, had been thrilled to see them.

They said, "We couldn't miss your big moment." Just once, they couldn't have? _Just once_? "We were watching you both the whole time on the video monitors outside the hall." Oh, great, they heard his song. "I think it's wonderful you and Noah are dating." And they _liked_ his song.

The most annoying part was that they weren't even remotely threatened that their baby daughter was with him.

His street cred was down to zero.

But he didn't even care, because the sexy little glances Rachel kept shooting him across the table when she knew her dads weren't looking more than made up for it.

Rachel's dads _finally_ left them alone at the airport. The Berrys had flown in that morning just to see the audition, and they were flying standby back to Ohio that same afternoon.

"Alone at last," Rachel sighed contentedly as they boarded their plane, leaving her dads sitting in the waiting area.

Puck looked at her in surprise. "I thought you were happy they came."

"Of course I was. But their timing could not have been worse. I wanted to celebrate _in private_." She raised her eyebrows and smiled, and Puck nearly tripped over his own feet as he tried to decipher her meaning and step into the plane at the same time.

They couldn't really talk as they went about finding their seats and stowing their carry-ons. Finally, they settled in for the flight back.

"You know," Puck leaned over and tucked her hair behind her ear so he could whisper right into it, "we don't have to wait until we get home … " he motioned toward the restroom, and Rachel groaned in disgust, just like he figured she would. Hey, can't blame a guy for trying.

Rachel cupped his chin with both hands. Puck grinned when he realized she was using his own move against him. "Yeah?" he smirked, bending toward her. She kept her hands on his face and began stroking his cheeks with her fingers.

"My dads won't be home for hours after us, and they already arranged a car to drive us from the airport. What if we just conveniently forgot to stop at your house?" Her eyes were gleaming and he knew their smiles were both a mile wide.

Puck nodded against her hands. "Yeah, I can work with that."


	10. Something to Talk About

Wow, this chapter could not get any sappier. But I didn't want to end this story without having them tell their friends, and this is what came out. These fics really do write themselves sometimes.

Once again, thanks to everyone who's followed this story!

**Epilogue: Something to Talk About**

The idea of going back to school on Monday was eating away at both of them. They had big news for their club, and neither of them had any idea how to break it.

Luckily, their alibis bought them the entire weekend, though Finn did call on Sunday to see if Puck was feeling better. Puck kinda owed it to the dude to give him one last day of happiness before he told him he had basically stolen yet another of his girlfriends, so Puck agreed to hang out. They spent Sunday playing video games, and Puck just couldn't work up the nerve to say anything about Rachel.

Monday morning, Rachel and Puck walked into school holding hands, figuring actions spoke louder than words. Luckily, no one seemed to care, and even the rest of New Directions took the news in stride. By third period, everyone at school knew they were together, but since that particular piece of gossip wasn't all that interesting (been there, done that), they weren't bothered all day.

Until they ran into Finn outside of the choir room. Puck squeezed Rachel's hand, deciding he'd better be the first to speak. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything yesterday, but I didn't know how to tell you. Are we okay?"

Finn grimaced. "Not really, but I'll get over it," he shrugged.

"Oh, thank you," Rachel practically squealed. "Finn, I was so worried about what you would think. I know I should have told you myself."

Finn grumbled, "I don't have to like it, but I don't want to fight about it. So let's just be cool, all right?"

Rachel held her head high, and Puck was proud of her for staying so calm. "Thanks, Finn," she said quietly. Puck took her hand again and motioned for Finn to precede them into the choir room.

He rolled his shoulders and led them in.

"One more hurdle, babe, are you sure you can do this?" Puck whispered to her as they made their entrance. She nodded, looking a little queasy but otherwise prepared.

The rest of the club was wholly uninterested in their handholding, so that must have steeled Rachel for what she had to do next. She'd insisted on being their spokesperson, because she had been the one to initiate the whole Juilliard thing in the first place. As soon as Mr. Schue called the group to attention, Rachel raised her hand, and Puck could tell she was trying her hardest to be her usual perky self.

"Mr. Schue, I have an announcement to share with everyone."

Mr. Schuester shrugged. "I think everyone knows you and Puck are dating again." Puck saw him glance apologetically at Finn, but Finn seemed fine. Or, as fine as he had been when they talked in the hall.

"No, there's something more." She grabbed Puck's hand again and brought him up to the front of the room with her.

"Not another baby!" Kurt let out an exaggerated groan.

"Don't even," Mercedes replied with a dismissive hand.

"No, no, it's nothing like that." Rachel couldn't help what she did next, he could tell. She turned to him, clasped her hands, and stared dreamily into his eyes. While the rest of the club was squirming in their seats, chattering back and forth about what the announcement could be, Rachel let herself get swept up in the excitement of their news, and he couldn't blame her. He was feeling a little giddy himself.

Rachel finally spoke again. "Last week when we missed school, Noah and I were actually in New York."

Puck barely registered the look of utter shock on everyone's faces before Rachel continued.

"We auditioned for Juilliard … and we both got in!" She beamed her thousand-watt, ambition-is-my-best-friend smile around the room and Puck glanced at everyone, trying to gauge their reactions and preparing to grab her and make a run for it if necessary.

Mr. Schue was ecstatic, of course. He wrapped both of them in a bear hug and started exclaiming over how exciting it all was. Everyone else slowly came out of their shocked stupor and one by one started congratulating them both. Puck felt Mike slapping him on the back while Artie reached up for a fist bump.

He was on autopilot, feeling happy like he was supposed to, but everything was just a blur after that.

It wasn't until the commotion died down that he realized Kurt, Mercedes, and Finn hadn't left their seats.

"Guys?" he addressed them, and everyone else fell silent as Rachel and Puck turned toward them. Puck desperately wanted everyone to be okay about this, for both his and Rachel's sakes.

"How could you not tell us?" Kurt cried, getting more upset by the second.

"Kurt, I'm so sorry … I wanted to keep it just to myself, because I wasn't even sure I'd get in—" Rachel stammered.

"Yeah, whatever." Mercedes huffed. "Congrats." Puck was pretty sure a person couldn't get more sarcastic than that.

Rachel looked helplessly at Puck, clearly asking him what he thought she should say. He had no idea.

"We can all support each other when good things happen, right?" Mr. Schue asked nervously.

"I suppose." Kurt stood and came down the risers toward them, hugging Rachel tightly when he reached her. "I'm still mad, but I'm so thrilled for you," he said, and Rachel burst into tears as they hugged again.

Mercedes soon followed, and she gave Puck a high five as she reached Rachel. She joined in on the hug. Puck looked up into the risers at Finn. "Finn?"

Finn stood up. "Well I'm not gonna be the only jerk who doesn't suck it up and congratulate you," he said as he walked over. Puck saw Mr. Schue tense next to him as Finn approached, looking ready for a fight.

"Why do you want everything I have, Puckerman? Why do you get to have her _and_ Juilliard, too?"

Puck swallowed, actually feeling sorry for Finn. He obviously still loved Rachel, and even though Puck was pretty darn sure Rachel was never going back to him, he knew exactly how Finn felt.

"I love her," he finally leveled, shrugging.

Finn stared hard at him. "You'll treat her right? You'll keep her safe in New York?"

Puck nodded. "Of course."

Rachel disentangled herself from Kurt and Mercedes and cleared her throat. "Hey! Don't you think I can take care of myself?" she asked indignantly.

Finn and Puck both turned their heads toward her and said "No!" at the same time.

Finn burst out laughing, and the tension dissipated. Puck leaned forward to give Finn a guy-hug, and Finn returned it.

They had bounced back from worse. It might take some time, but they'd be friends again, Puck was sure of it.

Puck couldn't wait to spend the rest of senior year being Rachel Berry's boyfriend, winning Nationals, kicking ass at school, and generally all-around enjoying his life.

And then, _and then_, they'd be Juilliard-bound. Rachel caught his eye across the group of mingling glee clubbers. She mouthed, "I love you."

Puck sighed with joy, not caring who noticed. "Love you too," he mouthed back, and before he knew it Mr. Schue was calling them back to order.

They had a Sectionals set list to plan.


End file.
